growing – Living, Loving, Laughing….

It’s been a rough weekend – moving. Need I say more? It’s not just the back-breaking labor of it (heh, labor – Labor Day – get it?). But the fact that I must accept help from others. Help cleaning. Help packing. Help loading heavy items and moving them from one place to another. Load and unload of those items. Most of which that have no place to go. Do I feel like I deserve that kind of support? That kind of assistance? A giving of service, out of love, out of family. Well….

No , I don’t want to burden anyone else, I feel like I should do it all MYself. But as Jason’s niece says (at four), “That’s ridiculous!” So, I shelf my pride, and I shrug off the chips of independence on my shoulders, and I accept. I accept the generosity. I accept the gratitude. I am humbly and eternally grateful in having this help voluntary, from the outpouring of kind hearts. Jason tells me, of course, my family is helping you. They love you. You are our family and will be my wife.

So, I let his step-dad fix the broken things. His mom clean the dirty things. His brother move the heavy things. I bow my head in thanks for family. A family chosen from loving another. How beautiful.

And today, I welcome the end. The final cleaning. The four-week countdown to the wedding and final preparations. Where do I find the peace and serenity God gives me?

My moonflowers.

One of the baby yard plants had a bloom last night. I felt as proud as the mama plant because I saved the little orphan by flagging it from the mower.

Here she is in all her little glory. Wow – to grow through grass and untreated soil – to just keep growing until the reward of opening her petals to the moon. And maybe that is how I feel too. Going and going and going towards that reward. That day blooming in the future; our marriage, our one home. The seemingly overwhelming details still to handle will finally be complete – and resplendent beyond imagination.

As I turned to go inside, after proudly photographing my little moonflower-that-could. I see a small bee on the mother ship. It’s not the ginormous Okie bee, but it is a busy bee. Something I will be today (and many others). All the wonderful hobbies I love – reading blogs, writing posts, and taking pictures. All on the back-burner as this wedding closes in. So bear with me, as I work my bee bum off and try to get everything done, plus work full time. I will BEE around, just very busy.

Have a bee-u-tiful day!

Moonflowers – they have been in my family for years. They bloom only at night and some of the blooms can be saucer size. If a full moon is out, these flowers absolutely glow. It’s incredible. They only last one night, then they droop down, until the bloom falls off. It’s kind of sad. They have their one night of glory.

My mom gave me Moonflowers many moons ago (heh). They were planted under the dining room window and bloomed beautifully for several seasons; until I moved from my garden oasis. I kept meaning to get more from her, but never had a spot that I wanted to cultivate at the rented duplex. I knew they would be left again, so why bother.

That’s why last year when I was admiring the many gorgeous blooms at Calloway’s, I notice a lone plant on a table. It had grayish green leaves that I recognized. The Moonflower. I could not BELIEVE it. I had never seen one at a plant store. My mom had them and my second mother-in-law had them. No one knew where they got theirs though. They just were. As far as my mom knew, she had dug them up from a railroad track. My second mother-in-law guessed her husband’s deceased wife had planted theirs. The night he died, every bud flowered. Every single one. So yes, I think she had planted them too.

Last year I planted it at Jason’s, outside the dining room window. The Calloway’s Moonflower grew and bloomed. It was beautiful. I almost killed it giving it TOO much love because I wanted it to do well, so badly. But I didn’t. It bloomed night after night. Then, as winter descended so it did too, into the ground to await spring. However, at springtime, I watched to see what would or wouldn’t come back. Anxiously awaiting the Moonflower, but there was no sign of it.

I was so disappointed! I had seen several large seed pods that went to ground and got rained on. They always came back, always, but it didn’t. No sign at all. Until…..late, late, late spring – well summer (especially in Texas). I saw the leaves and there she was. A baby of a thing, but growing.

I did my obsessive thing – willing it taller and stronger – almost killing it with Rosemary organic spray because some bug was chewing on its leaves. Apparently Moonflowers leaves get burned by Rosemary spray. Oops. I left it alone. I thought it was a goner, and there were no other budding plants in sight. I looked at Colloway’s for a replacement, but not one existed.

I grieved a little. Then a wondrous thing happened.

The plant I almost killed prevailed.

Buds grew.

A bloom appeared.

Awaiting nightfall with great anticipation.

Opening to the night.

Last night was my first Moonflower bloom of the year, and the reason for my feel good Friday post. I don’t know what it is about this flower that means so much to me, but it does. It’s my mom, it’s my step-father-in-law who was a tremendously sweet man, it’s the glowing moon that I adore. It’s the unique rareness. It’s the light in nights. It’s me. It’s my journey to start over. To grow again and again at a new place. To be found, to be treasured…….. to be home.